


meet you where the spirit meets the bone

by amethystkrystal



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Domestic Bliss, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Mpreg, Post-Canon, very minor ThanZag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:00:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28970994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amethystkrystal/pseuds/amethystkrystal
Summary: After being reunited, Achilles and Patroclus are granted a blessing.
Relationships: Achilles/Patroclus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 77





	meet you where the spirit meets the bone

Achilles has long since stopped attending to the passage of time, so he cannot say how long it has been since he and Patroclus were reunited. It’s been enough time that they no longer experience random, unexpected fits of weeping at the mere sight of each other. But not so long that they take a single moment as anything less than a divine miracle.

They spend much of their time simply being together. Sometimes they are intimate, bringing each other to climax with sweet, unhurried motions simply because they can, with all of eternity stretched out before them. But mostly, they simply lie together in the soft grass of Elysium, wrapped in each other’s embrace. 

It is during one of these tender, quiet moments that Patroclus rests a hand on Achilles' middle and says, fond and teasing, “You’re getting soft here, my love.”

Achilles looks down at his bare stomach. They aren’t wearing any clothes. There’s no need; it’s just the two of them. Now that he really looks, he notices for the first time that his abdomen is no longer sculpted and defined by hard muscle. There’s slight roundness there instead.  _ Soft _ , as Patroclus had put it. 

“Must be all the ambrosia,” Achilles jokes. But even as he grins at Patroclus, his mind remains curious. His body is longer one of flesh and blood — why would this spiritual form change in such a way? 

“Much about the afterlife, about Elysium, is a mystery,” Patroclus says, and Achilles doesn’t think he’ll ever take for granted how Pat always seems to be able to read his thoughts. “But I think this is a sign that you can rest now, that your body is for indulgence, not strife.” 

Achilles is still a little unsure, but Patroclus' words resonate. Elysium is the realm of eternal paradise, so surely it is within the power of this place to affect him in such a way, to mark him as someone who spends his days lounging about and drinking sweet nectar with his dearest love.

"Indulgence, hm?" Achilles shifts on his side so that he's partly on top of Patroclus and trails a hand down his bare torso.

Patroclus shivers, mouth twisting into a grin. He reaches out and cups Achilles' jaw, drawing him down for a kiss that feels like sweetness and fire all at once.

Though he would much rather be in Elysium, Achilles truly does not mind the time he must spend fulfilling his contractual obligation in the House of Hades. Things have been good, as of late. The Queen brings a certain lightness and serenity with her returned presence. Orpheus, when he's not with his muse, croons the most beautiful melodies at all hours. 

_ Even Death himself is in brighter spirits, _ Achilles thinks to himself as he watches Thanatos and Zagreus make their way down the hall together, their manner with each other warm and affectionate.

As they approach where Achilles is standing guard, Thanatos slows to a stop and stares at Achilles with a discerning look.

"What is it?" Zagreus says, glancing back and forth between Thanatos and Achilles.

"I can feel the presence of every single shade in the Underworld," Thanatos says, looking directly at Achilles. Even for an exalted hero, being subject to the unflinching gaze of the God of Death is chilling. "But recently, I felt the presence of a soul who was not brought here by myself or Charon or Hermes or anyone else with such authority. They've remained elusive to me. Until now."

Thanatos' gaze drops to Achilles' middle.

"What are you talking about?" Achilles says, genuinely confused.

"You carry a fledgling soul inside of you."

"What?" Achilles' hand flies to his belly. Surely, Thanatos cannot be implying--

"Achilles is having a baby?!" Zagreus exclaims. He looks delighted by the prospect. 

Thanatos clicks his tongue. "Achilles' immortal form is hosting a nascent soul of unknown origins." He glances at Zagreus and then rolls his eyes. "Yes, I suppose put simply, Achilles is having a baby."

Achilles has lived the horrors of warfare, has faced bloodshed and gore and men intent to kill him. He has looked Lord Hades himself in the eye and signed away himself for eternal servitude in the lowest depth of hell. And yet he has never felt himself tremble like this. 

"How is this possible?" he whispers.

"Elysium grants one's most deeply held desires," Thanatos says. "And now that the Queen has returned, her gifts of cultivation and new life have influence on the machinations of the Underworld. That you and your Patroclus may be blessed with a child is not so outlandish as you might think."

He and Patroclus… blessed with a child. Achilles can hardly believe it. It doesn't seem real. He's jarred from his thoughts when Zagreus grips his shoulder, grinning wide. 

"Go to Patroclus and give him the good news!" Zagreus says. His joy is so infectious, Achilles feels himself being swept along. (A baby! He and Patroclus are having a baby!) "If my father asks, I'll cover for you."

"I-- thank you, lad." Achilles hasn't felt this flustered since that fateful moment he heeded Patroclus's message to risk it all and meet him in Elysium. 

He thinks to himself "fear is for the week" and then, with steeling breath, he disappears from the House of Hades.

Patroclus is by the riverbank practicing his spear fighting forms when Achilles reappears in the small corner of Elysium they call home. He looks confused by Achilles' early return, and then, no doubt seeing the look of utter shock on Achilles' face, frowns in concern. 

"Is everything alright?"

"I have some news." Achilles goes to Patroclus and takes both his hands in his own. "Thanatos told me he can sense I am carrying a fledgling soul."

Patroclus' brow furrows. "I don't understand."

Achilles brings Patroclus' hand to his stomach, pressing it gently against the slight swell there. He smiles as the truth of their blessing begins to fully sink in. "We're going to have a baby."

Patroclus glances down to where Achilles placed his hand and then looks back up, lips parted in awe. "How is that possible?"

"Thanatos said Elysium can grant our most deeply held desires."

Patroclus looks back down to where their hands are overlapping against Achilles' belly. "And this is what you desire?"

Achilles pauses. He had never outright wished for a child with Patroclus; it wasn't something he had ever thought was possible. But he thinks of the way it felt to mentor Zagreus from boyhood, to feel such boundless pride and affection as he watched him grow up. He thinks of the warm spark he always feels in his chest when Zagreus visits with them both and he sees the tender way Patroclus is with him. Perhaps he never said the words "I want a baby", but he has always desired a family with Patroclus. 

"Yes. This is what I desire." Achilles starts to tear up with how much it's true. 

Patroclus draws him in close so that the swell of Achilles' belly is right up against him. He holds Achilles' face in his hands and thumbs away the tears. 

"This is what I desire, too," Patroclus says softly.

This kiss, tender and slow, with the promise of forever laid out before them. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! This is my first time writing in this fandom so I appreciate anyone reading this. I mostly post about MCU fandom but if you want to follow me on Twitter, I am [@amethystk219](https://www.twitter.com/amethystk219/)


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